Randy Albright: Called to sing

FITCHBURG -- A vivid memory from growing up in Michigan for Randy Albright was that at 8 p.m., it was time for prayers with the whole family, including cousins.

"The TV would go off. Now, looking back I think that shaped me," said Albright.

He had been given up for adoption in 1957, when he was 8 months old.

"It was stated that I had to be adopted into a Catholic family," said Albright. A Polish-American family took him in.

"No one looked like me, but I had a wonderful family," said Albright, who attended school at St. Mary of the Assumption School in Bronson, Mich. He felt lucky to have parents who were great examples.

"At night when they tucked us in, they would pray at our bedside," said Albright, who remembers his dad as 5 feet 7 inches and as strong as a bull.

His upbringing and a pilgrimage to the mecca of country music -- the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn. -- have given him first a career as a country singer and songwriter, and now as a Catholic music evangelist. On Friday night, he will perform at Madonna of the Holy Rosary Church in Fitchburg in a show presented by WQPH Radio 89.3 FM and Prayers for Life.

The Sentinel & Enterprise had a chance to talk with Country Christian singer by phone Tuesday morning, before he gave an ecumenical evening concert at the Shirley prison chapel.

"I am a little anxious about the sound," said the soft-spoken Albright, who had to use provided sound equipment because of security reasons. "But I am ready to give an acoustic performance.

Advertisement

"

Growing up, Albright was aware of his different appearance.

"I was a little skinny, dark-skinned guy," said Albright, whose mother played the accordion and whose father worked in the local factory. His uncles and grandfather were lighter skinned, stout, hard-working farmers.

"My mom would rock me in her arms, and she would tell me, I love you as if you were my own," he said.

He said his mother's philosophy was to forgive.

"My mom would say, 'I don't want to be mad at anyone or have anyone mad at me,'" he said. "My mother shaped the tenderness of heart in me and my dad gave me the toughness I needed."

Albright's mother knew early on that her son had an interest in music. His parents bought him a guitar when he was 8.

"My mom played the accordion in polka bands," he said.

"My guitar teacher gave up on teaching me the notes and switched to teaching me chords and letting me sing," said Albright.

Albright says his first mentor was his mom, and he acompanied her on his guitar at the local nursing home and veterans hospital.

Deeper than that, Albright's mother wondered if her adoptive son's birth mother had played the piano when a local article piqued her interest. After Albright was married, his mom shared the 1966 newspaper feature of a young, lanky lady who had won an award for writing a song. The last name coincidentally paired with another name on her son's birth certificate. His mother's suspicions would later be confirmed.

Albright says he feels like he has always been in the Virgin Mary's hands.

"I was adopted at 8 months old in the month of May, the month of Mary," said Albright.

Albright left Michigan and headed for the Grand Ole Opry when he was 20. He auditioned, but landed a job in costuming, which allowed him to rub elbows with some of the bigwigs like Johnny Cash and Roy Acuff. He remembers being invited on stage to play guitar with Acuff.

"I've been writing songs and singing for 28 years," said the father of four boys. "When I started playing Our Lord's Mass in 2002 I heard about the Divine Mercy Messages. Something struck me.

"All of a sudden it was like, 'For the sake of his sorrowful passion,'" said Albright, his singing voice reedy and low. "That was when I knew there was much more important work to be done."

The singer asked the Lord to give him a sign, and the line, "Prepare me Mary to meet thy son" came to him. Within an hour the song was written.

Albright uses a synthesizer to create a prayerful, symphonic sound. He also uses a digital recorder to help him save moments of musical inspiration. More than once he's had to excuse himself from a group of friends saying, "Just a minute, I'll be right back."

The lyricist John Bettis of Warner Bros., told him, "Don't eat, don't sleep or do anything when that moment hits you. There'll be plenty of time for those things later."

His time at the Opry "was like my college," said Albright. "I was with the King of Country Music. I went from playing polkas in Michigan to strumming the guitar at the Grand Ole Opry," he said.

Three years later in 1981, Albright was 23 and pitched a tape, which Acuff accepted.

Earlier, Don Goodman, a country singer who wrote "Angels Among Us," heard Albright playing in a bar.

"'Listen buddy, I'm drunk, but you are good,' he said," Albright said.

Goodman left his card and took Albright under his wing.

"He taught me how to summarize every day in a positive way. He had a heart of gold," said Albright, who lived by that same ideal when he was raising his boys.

Albright now sings with his wife, Laurie, whom he says he could not do without -- along with Jesus' mother.

"Bottom line, when you get to know Mary, you know Christ better," said Albright.

Doors open at 6 p.m. with the concert at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person and can be purchased online at wqphradio.org. For information, contact John Trainor, 978-582-7298, Chris Toloczko, 508-856-9416, or Mary Ann Harold, 781-391-1396. Visit ikahnrecords.com to hear "Glory to God on High" and other releases.

Communion breakfast

The public is also invited to worship on Saturday for an 8 a.m. First Saturday Mass at St. Joseph's Church at 49 Woodland St. in Fitchburg followed by a 9 a.m. Communion Breakfast at Madonna of the Holy Rosary Church, where Albright plans to mingle with fans. Steve Gajdosik, founder of Divine Mercy Radio, will speak. Tickets are $10 per person.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sentinel and Enterprise. So keep it civil.